Green Tea Weight Loss Benefits

by Debbie Morgan

Green tea is not a new fad. It has been a mainstay drink in China for the past 3,000 years, used for a variety of ailments and purposes. The tea comes from the same Camellia Sinensis plant as black tea, but instead of fermenting and aging the leaves green tea is made from fresh leaves, leaving the nutritional, antioxidant, and enzyme content intact. This makes it a much better option than traditional black tea when it comes to your health. In China it is traditional to drink at least three cups a day.

Green tea is one of nature’s greatest gifts to humans. It is incredibly rich in antioxidants, which help the body rid itself of free radicals that damage DNA. Recent studies have also shown that it can be effective in fighting heart disease, cancer, and high cholesterol. Other smaller studies have proven that green tea can help prevent dementia, diabetes, and stroke. New studies have shown that green tea can also help you lose weight when you drink 2-3 cups a day regularly and combine this regimen with exercise and an improved diet. Below are some of the various green tea weight loss benefits.

Fat Burning Qualities

Green tea has a very high amount of catechin polyphenols. These chemicals work with the body to increase fat oxidation and thermogenisis. Thermogenesis is the process where heat is created by a natural process that burns fat.

Finally, the tea helps to regulate blood sugar levels by changing the speed at which your body releases bad carbohydrates. This not only burns fat more quickly, but also lowers bad cholesterol levels.

Digestive Aid

Your digestive system is complex and efficient, but if you consume too much food it can break down and store fat, causing you to gain weight. Green tea is very helpful when this happens. Drinking green tea after every meal can stimulate stomach acids through a combination of vitamins B1 and C, helping you digest food and keeping fat from building up in your body.

Appetite Suppressant

One of the best green tea weight loss benefits is that it can help suppress your appetite in numerous ways. Most people struggle with the amount they eat at each meal. Getting this under control is one of the most important aspects of a successful diet program. Green tea contains theanine, which improves your mood and has a calming effect on your body. Because of this your brain produces more dopamine, which calms you and tricks your body into thinking it is not hungry. Stress causes you to eat more, and the theanine in green tea will reduce your stress.

While green tea doesn’t have as much caffeine as other drinks, such as regular coffee or tea, it does have small amounts. Caffeine has been shown in studies to not only suppress appetite, but also acts as a natural fat burner.

Low Calories

Green tea by itself contains almost no calories. Even if you put a teaspoon of honey in it, green tea still only has around 50 calories or so. This makes it the perfect drink for those who are looking to lose weight, because the body burns more calories processing it than it contains. This is on top of all the other health benefits that go along with drinking green tea.

Green tea has been proven to have a multitude of health benefits, from reducing the risk of stroke to helping to lower bad cholesterol. It is one of the most commonly utilized ingredients in thousands of different health and diet supplements. The tea itself has almost no calories. If you decide to add green tea to your health and diet regimen, then you have nothing to lose but weight!